Latest news with #Greco
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Tropion Sports Partners Leads NBA Investment in Partnership with Blue Owl Capital
Tropion has completed a $25 million investment and is planning multiple investment tranches MIAMI, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2025 / Tropion Sports Partners has launched a partnership to invest into the NBA alongside Blue Owl Capital and the Blue Owl Home Court Fund. Tropion is planning multiple investment tranches, having recently completed a $25 million investment. Tropion, a global sports investment platform, is led by Philadelphia-based entrepreneur Joseph Greco. Greco is also a minority owner of Major League Soccer's (MLS) Philadelphia Union and the founder and former chairman of fintech businesses PSC Info Group/RevSpring and Experity Ventures. Tropion's group of investors includes current and former professional athletes and well-known entrepreneurs, business leaders, and financial professionals. "We believe the NBA is positioned to capitalize on its significant global popularity and will continue to grow meaningfully over the next decade in a variety of ways. We are excited to bring access to this opportunity to our elite network of investors in partnership with Blue Owl Capital," said Greco. Blue Owl Capital is a leading alternative asset manager with $273 billion in assets under management. Formed in 2020, the HomeCourt Fund provides institutional capital and private equity solutions to the NBA ecosystem to support long-term growth of the league and improve market liquidity, and currently has investments in the Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings. SOURCE: Tropion Sports Partners press release
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Tropion Sports Partners Leads NBA Investment in Partnership with Blue Owl Capital
Tropion has completed a $25 million investment and is planning multiple investment tranches MIAMI, FLORIDA / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2025 / Tropion Sports Partners has launched a partnership to invest into the NBA alongside Blue Owl Capital and the Blue Owl Home Court Fund. Tropion is planning multiple investment tranches, having recently completed a $25 million Sports Partners Tropion Sports Partners Tropion, a global sports investment platform, is led by Philadelphia-based entrepreneur Joseph Greco. Greco is also a minority owner of Major League Soccer's (MLS) Philadelphia Union and the founder and former chairman of fintech businesses PSC Info Group/RevSpring and Experity Ventures. Tropion's group of investors includes current and former professional athletes and well-known entrepreneurs, business leaders, and financial professionals. 'We believe the NBA is positioned to capitalize on its significant global popularity and will continue to grow meaningfully over the next decade in a variety of ways. We are excited to bring access to this opportunity to our elite network of investors in partnership with Blue Owl Capital,' said Greco. Blue Owl Capital is a leading alternative asset manager with $273 billion in assets under management. Formed in 2020, the HomeCourt Fund provides institutional capital and private equity solutions to the NBA ecosystem to support long-term growth of the league and improve market liquidity, and currently has investments in the Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings. Contact InformationNick Sprague Partner 305-343-1210 SOURCE: Tropion Sports Partners press release
Boston Globe
26-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
The resurrection of a Catholic theme park
The cross that now stands at Holy Land USA in Waterbury, Conn. Anabel DeMartino The cross is the centerpiece of Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Perched on a hill in the center of Waterbury, Holy Land USA was founded by a local attorney and devout Catholic, John Greco, and opened to the public in 1958. Greco's niece, Rebecca Calabrese, says the theme park was an extension of her uncle's spiritual calling. When he wasn't working as a lawyer, he lived a monk-like existence in a small house at the base of the hill and used all of his spare time and money to build and take care of Holy Land. Advertisement A postcard of Holy Land USA in its heyday. Bill Fitzpatrick Advertisement Greco was resourceful, using discarded items — old bathtubs, factory doors, cinder blocks, chicken wire, and aluminum milk cans — to construct miniature replicas of Jerusalem (and its underground catacombs), Bethlehem, and even the Egyptian pyramids. The columns of the miniature Holy Temple are made from rusty water pipes, and a statue of Jesus rises from a concrete pillar that was originally designed for the Sears at the local mall. Locals donated much of the materials needed to construct the original neon cross and the massive sign bearing the park's name. An undated photo of guests arriving at Holy Land USA in its early years. Bill Fitzpatrick Greco, who spent some of his childhood in Avellino, Italy, created the park as an American equivalent of the Catholic shrines he visited in that area. In particular, he wanted to build a version of the Sacri Monti (Holy Mountains) of Piedmont and Lombardy — nine 16th- and 17th-century Christian chapels and monuments that were intended as spiritual stand-ins for the Holy Land. In 1984, too elderly to manage the park, Greco closed it and left the property to the Religious Sisters of Filippi. What followed were decades of decay, as the statues and buildings succumbed to the elements and vandals. By the 2000s, many in Waterbury Salvaged plumbing pipes became the pillars of this temple. Anabel DeMartino When, in 2013, the nuns listed the property for sale, Neil O'Leary, then Waterbury's mayor, took an interest. Together with local businessman Fritz Blazius, O'Leary bought the site for $375,000 with the promise to the nuns that it would always remain Holy Land USA. The first order of business: replacing the underwhelming stainless steel cross with which the nuns had replaced the once-impossible-to-miss neon one. During O'Leary's first campaign for mayor, he'd been struck by how many folks had urged him to 'put up a new cross at Holy Land.' Advertisement It took six months and more than $400,000 in donated materials and labor. On Christmas Eve 2013, the 56-foot new cross, blazing with 5,000 LED bulbs, was lit up before a crowd of 20,000 in downtown Waterbury. O'Leary and Blazius have since created a nonprofit foundation and a board to oversee the park's revitalization. Since 2018, Reverend Jim Sullivan of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury and a member of the Holy Land board, has led an Easter sunrise mass that brings hundreds of worshippers to the base of the new cross. This past Easter, Sullivan says, was the largest gathering yet, with some 1,000 attendees. 'God speaks on mountains,' Sullivan says. 'God has spoken on this mountain and will continue to do so.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
People swear by this Pierce County butcher shop. Have a look behind the counter
It was 10:55 a.m. on a Wednesday when a bearded man in a bright-orange T-shirt pulled on the door of Blue Max Meats. A few minutes later, Mapp Chhim turned toward the team of six or so employees and general manager Scott Johnson, some of whom have been on site since 5 am. 'Are we ready?' After a joint 'Yep,' he turns the key. In less than a half-hour, several customers have already come and gone, and a few more await their requests: Two pounds of trail mix, not the nutty kind, with hunks of Blue Max original beef jerky, torn pepperoni sticks, slices of smoked bratwurst, and cubes of cheese. Twelve jerk-marinated chicken thighs, packed six and six. Smoked pork chops. Ribeyes and New York strips of American wagyu, USDA Prime and Choice. Housemade sausages in 35 total varieties. Also housemade brown-sugar bacon. Lots and lots of jerky — the Hawaiian style is delightfully sweet and savory. Everyone is greeted with a 'Hello, welcome in!' and asked, probably more than once if you're indecisive, if you've been helped. The employee behind the counter who starts to help you will keep helping you, all the way through checkout. They are friendly and patient and maybe it's a show, but darn if it doesn't seem like these folks like working here. That sense of pride is precisely what led Tommy Marshall and Evan Greco to buy Blue Max Meats in 2013. The local company has served Pierce County since 1994, and it all started on the corner of South 96th and Canyon roads in the Summit area. Then it was a modest shop on the other corner of the same building it calls home today. Until maybe the early 2000s, there was also a Blue Max in Lakewood and South Tacoma. On the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend, all but guaranteed to be busy, Marshall was dressed in Levi's and a maroon-and-cream checkered Oxford. Greco opted for shorts, high socks and a short-sleeved plaid button-down. Both were sporting aprons — one brown, one orange — as well as a ball cap. Along with their staff, the binding characteristic is a wooden clip-on bowtie, a throwback to butchers of yore. The duo met about 15 years ago. Greco, then in his early 20s, had been laid off from a job as a metal worker when his mom suggested butchery. Some of their family in New York state had a history as U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspectors, and he was raised on a micro-farm in the Puyallup area. They sold animals to the Washington State Fair, he said, and their Italian relatives here were prolific home cooks. He got a job at Blue Max. 'On the first day, I knew this was what I wanted to do,' Greco recalled. With a burgeoning interest in the craft, he started making jerky at home. Armed with questions about how to cut a top-sirloin, he would frequent Summit Trading Co., the former supermarket a few blocks south on Canyon Road (now a Wilco Farm Store), where Marshall managed the meat department. Eventually Greco got a job there instead, and within a couple of years, the two were scheming how to open their own market. They point to Greco's random discovery of an old tin-type photograph at a local antique store as 'the catalyst' for their decade-plus journey of beefy entrepreneurship. An enlarged version of it — probably a midcentury Piggly Wiggly meat counter — now hangs on the wall of both shops. When they learned the Blue Max owner was closing, they inquired about buying some equipment and ended up buying the whole business. 'It was a big risk,' said Marshall last week. 'We didn't have any money, but we knew meat.' Their shop would focus on quality, consistency, customer service and housemade goods wherever possible — dedication that appears to have paid off. In 2014, they accidentally went viral when Greco decided to mix sausage and Skittles in honor of Seattle Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch, notoriously in love with the rainbow candy. Greco, who admits it's too much even for him in one sitting on a bun, laughs about his Beast Mode Sausage now. 'I thought it would be funny as a joke, and the next day we had a line,' he said. 'I was making these sausages 14 hours a day.' They kept it going as the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks returned to the big game the following year. You can still snag them — but only during football season. That was a big moment, they reflected in May. In 2016 they expanded to Buckley, taking over the old Rose's IGA on State Route 410. In 2019, they moved the original Puyallup shop into Summit Pub's original home. Not only is it much bigger, allowing them to provide even more variety in the coolers (cheese, specialty cold cuts), freezers (wild game, seafood, locker packs of meat that didn't sell from the case yesterday) and dry goods (produce, spices, sauces, tools), they kept the first storefront to handle all the smoking and processing. Today, all those sausages, smoked pork chops and jerky galore comprise a full quarter of sales. 'The thing that sustains us is that we're unique,' said Marshall. 'We don't hang out in the low-quality, low-price zone — and we charge a fair price for it.' Every morning, the fresh meat cases are stacked with fresh rows. Many steaks are sourced from Pacific Northwest producers, including Snake River Farms and Double R Ranch, as well as Canada's St. Helens Beef. They tear through some 300 pounds of ribeyes on a typical Saturday, they said, but if you're in search of advice for another cut: Ask the butcher. They agreed the coulotte, a singular strip of muscle from the top sirloin, was perhaps the most underrated cut in the case. It can handle grilling, broiling and a reverse-sear. As it cooks, explained Marshall, 'it puffs up in the center,' almost like a roast, but it feels like a steak. Serve it rare, he advised. 'It's one cut that for the price is a crazy value,' he added. Greco also highlighted the hanging tender (more commonly seen as just hangar steak, and in some parts of Europe 'onglet'), which he described as a 'thin piece that's super tender' with a 'kind of loose structure' that grills up beautifully with simple seasoning. His kids love it, too. To save time, he recommends 'The Smokin Wedgie,' a metal triangle that holds pellets to create a smoker-like situation out of any grill. They see some customers several times a week, they said. Many, like Roy resident Dennis Seberson, go out of their way to stock up. Seberson has been a customer 'since it's been here,' he told The News Tribune, holding a couple bags' worth of goods. While there are other meat shops and places to buy meat, none are 'as good as this one,' he said. Seth and Emma McClanahan said their visit was a long time coming. Like Seberson, his dad gets his meat exclusively at Blue Max, but they had been shopping at Costco out of convenience. On this particular Wednesday morning, the retailer didn't have what they wanted. More pointedly, said Emma, 'Everybody tells to come here!' ▪ Puyallup: 9502 Canyon Road E., Puyallup, 253-535-6110, ▪ Buckley: 29304 State Route 410, Buckley, 360-829-6520 ▪ Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. ▪ Details: locally owned and operated meat market and butcher shop with fresh cuts daily, friendly and knowledgeable service, plus everything you need for a grilling party
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Your Stories Update: New traffic light installed at ‘dangerous' intersection
CLAY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The NewsChannel 9 Your Stories team is getting results. Neighbors in Clay contacted the team, fed up with a 'dangerous' intersection where crashes kept happening. It's the corner of Caughdenoy Road and Maple Road, right off exit 2 of I-481 northbound. 'What do we have to have, somebody die?' Mike Greco asked back in February. NewsChannel 9's Rachel Polansky went for a drive with Greco to see the challenges firsthand. Greco pointed out what he called blind spots, poor lighting, and confusing signs. NewsChannel 9 pulled the records. In the last two years, there have been at least eight crashes at the intersection, according to the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. In February, the Department of Transportation promised us they would take action and add a temporary traffic signal. Today, they kept that promise. NewsChannel 9 was there as crews got to work, installing poles and attaching lights. Neighbors hope the new traffic signal will bring relief and direction to drivers navigating the busy intersection. The NYSDOT tells NewsChannel 9 it will keep monitoring this intersection to see if a permanent traffic signal or other safety improvements should be considered. Submit a form. Your Stories Update: New traffic light installed at 'dangerous' intersection Your Stories Q&A: Children's mental health center planned for vacant lot in Cicero Your Stories Q&A: What's next for closed Big Lots in Oswego? Your Stories Q&A: When will Thruway exit 34A in DeWitt reopen? Your Stories Q&A: Uncle Chubby's in Clay reopening after being closed for 18 months Your Stories Q&A: What documents do I need to bring to DMV to get REAL ID? Your Stories Q&A: Is my Social Security number shown when a store scans my REAL ID license? 'Why do you have to live in a war zone if you're not part of the war?': Syracuse landlord frustrated by bullets on his block Your Stories Q&A: When will the new Chick-fil-A open in DeWitt? Your Stories Q&A: When will the rough ramp near Destiny USA get repaired? Do you need a REAL ID by May 7? What to know Your Stories Q&A: Is Byrne Dairy still replacing former TK Tavern in Camillus? Your Stories Q&A: An update on the future of Beck's Hotel in Mexico Your Stories Q&A: When will new comfort food restaurant open in Bridgeport? Your Stories Q&A: $100 million golf course community planned at former Syracuse country club Your Stories Q&A: Utica bakery known for its half-moon cookies opening spot in Manlius After nearly two weeks, hot water returns to Nob Hill Apartments building Your Stories Q&A: A burning question about a flame in Oneida Nob Hill Apartments tenants continue to live without hot water after two weeks Your Stories Q&A: Opening date announced for Salina Starbucks Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
